Lying, cheating and stealing
Indictment makes serious allegations against FTX founders
October 5, 2023, 3:30 a.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
The meteoric rise of the crypto exchange FTX was followed by the surprising collapse at the end of 2022. The public prosecutor’s office accuses founder Sam Bankman-Fried of fraud, lies and theft in the trial surrounding the bankruptcy. The defense paints a completely different picture of the former crypto billionaire.
In the fraud trial against Sam Bankman-Fried, the public prosecutor’s office accused the former crypto billionaire of fraud, lying and theft in its opening statement. Prosecutor Thane Rehn told a court in New York that the founder of the collapsed crypto exchange FTX took more than ten billion dollars from unsuspecting customers. “Everything was based on lies,” said Rehn. “He used his company FTX to commit large-scale fraud, and the money he spent to build his empire – that was money he stole from FTX customers.”
Bankman-Fried’s defense attorney Mark Cohen, however, said he had acted in good faith. “There was no theft,” Cohen said. “Sam didn’t cheat on anyone. Sam had no intention of cheating on anyone.” Rather, things were overlooked during the startup’s rapid growth. “Sam and his colleagues built the plane while flying it,” Cohen said. “No one – and especially not Sam – could be everywhere and do everything.”
Wednesday was the second day of the trial. First, jury selection was completed. The trial in the New York court is scheduled to last six weeks. If convicted, Bankman-Fried could face up to 115 years in prison. He rejected the fraud accusation several times and pleaded “not guilty” at an initial hearing in January 2023.